Research has proven that customers make five major buying decisions in the course of any major purchase. These decisions are always made in the same order. The first is whether to “buy” the salesperson—you. The second is whether to “buy” your company. Only after those two decisions are made will the customer seriously consider whether to buy your products.

This means that you need to sell yourself to the customer—by building rapport while conducting a good needs assessment—before you begin to sell your company and its capabilities. Not coincidentally, that needs assessment will also allow you to sell your company far more successfully. Why? Because you must first understand your customer’s needs, before you can answer the customer’s most important question about your company.

You must understand the customer’s needs before you can effectively sell your company.

In deciding whether to do business with you, customers have three basic questions about your company:

1. What does it do?
2. What is it known for?
3. Is your company a good match for mine?

The first two questions usually can be answered with a rehearsed presentation that explains what your company does and the benefits that other clients have gained from doing business with you.

The third question is most important, however, and you cannot answer it with a generic presentation that relies on standard information. To persuade customers that your company is a good match for theirs, you must tailor your answer to their specific needs.

The best way to do this is to tie your company presentation directly to needs that you uncovered earlier in the sales call. You thus are able to present your company’s capabilities as solutions to the customer’s key problems and opportunities.

For Example:

“You told me earlier that service from your current supplier is taking more than 24 hours and that this causes you problems meeting your production goals. We would be a good match for you because our service response averages less than four hours. With our company handling your service you will find it far easier to achieve your goals.”

“Are we a good match?” is every customer’s most important question about your company. You cannot answer it before you have uncovered, understood, and agreed upon the customer’s needs. “Sell yourself” first by demonstrating that you care about those needs. You’ll be amazed at how much more effectively you can then sell your company.

In The Field:

If you are in a commodity business and competing with rivals who sell on price alone, it is especially vital to tell your customers a powerful “company story” that explains why they should do business with you. For National Camera Exchange, which competes in the commodity-oriented business of photographic equipment, differentiating itself from the myriad of price-only suppliers is a daily challenge.

National Camera’s added-value proposition lies in the expertise and consulting skills of its sales force. Its equation for success or failure is simple: If the story of that consulting capability isn’t told effectively, the company loses to lower-priced competitors. Sales and training manager Sean Morgan says that an Action Selling sales training program made a world of difference. “Since more of our salespeople are telling our company story, we are posting higher numbers, and they look less like a roller coaster,” Morgan said. “When the customer needs an education on camera equipment, it is critical to sales success to show them how National Camera is a good match for their needs.”

Duane Sparks is chairman and founder of The Sales Board, a Minneapolis-based sales training company that has trained and certified more than 200,000 salespeople in the system and skills of Action Selling. He has personally facilitated more than 300 Action Selling training sessions.

In a 30-year career as a salesperson and sales manager, Duane has sold products ranging from office equipment to insurance. He was the top salesperson at every company he ever worked for. He developed Action Selling Sales Training while owner of one of the largest computer marketers in the United States. Even in the roaring computer business of the 1980's, his company grew six times faster than the industry norm, differentiating itself not by the products offered but by the way it sold them. Duane founded The Sales Board in 1990 to teach the skills of Action Selling to others.

Contact The Sales Board for more sales information or sales training that's been documented and research-proven to help you sell more! 1-800-232-3485

• The Sales Training Series: Sell By Agreeing On At Least 3 Needs


• The Sales Training Series: Ask For A Commitment Every Time


• The Sales Training Series: Buying The Salesperson


• The Sales Training Series: Dealing With Sales Objections and Stalls


• The Sales Training Series: Document Your Best Sales Practices


• The Sales Training Series: Five Buying Decisions


• The Sales Training Series: How To Develop A Strong Sales Culture


• The Sales Training Series: How To Sell Solutions


• The Sales Training Series: Keep Replaying The Sales Call


• The Sales Training Series: Keep Selling Your Company